In this new short story collection, Brian Evenson envisions a chilling future beyond the Anthropocene that forces excruciating decisions about survival and self-sacrifice in the face of toxic air and a natural world torn between revenge and regeneration. Combining psychological and ecological horror, each tale thrums with Evenson's award-winning literary craftsmanship, dark humor, and thrilling suspense.

    Her charge, Mary, is a troubled child. Distracted and secretive, she hasn't uttered a word since the sudden death of her twin, William—just days after their former nanny disappeared.With Mary defiantly silent, Elspeth turns to the islanders. But no one will speak of what happened to William. Just as no one can explain the hypnotic lullabies sung in empty corridors. Nor the strange dolls that appear in abandoned rooms.Nor the faint whistling that comes in the night...As winter draws in and passage to the mainland becomes impossible, Elspeth finds herself trapped.But is this house haunted by the ghosts of the past?OR THE SECRETS OF THE LIVING..?Chilling, twisty and emotionally gripping, The Whistling is an atmospheric page-turner with shades of the classics, yet a unique character of its own. Perfect for fans of Susan Hill and Laura Purcell.

    They finally have a home of their own, and with a baby on the way, this couldn't have come at a better time.However, just one day in the apartment is enough to tell them that something is very wrong. Things go missing only to reappear in strange places, footsteps and whispers echo in the rooms, and every night, the same song plays from somewhere inside the apartment.The longer Brad and Julia spend in the apartment, the more they learn about the dark secrets that haunt it. No longer able to afford moving to a new place, they have to make a decision - run away from their new home, or face the apparitions that plague it.One thing is for sure, though. They are not the only inhabitants of Apartment 401.

    A ceramic artist by trade and influenced by her late grandmother’s interest in supernatural magic, Elinor crafts an immortelle for Rowena’s grave and attempts to capture the girl’s spirit in the clay model of a starling. Soon she is inundated with requests for immortelles and the more immersed in the craft she becomes, the greater her powers grow. As the dead share their secrets with grieving Elinor, she learns the sordid truth of what happened to her beloved daughter and plots a revenge so hideous, it must be kept a secret forever.

    Still recovering from a serious illness herself, making enough money to support her elderly mother and her orphaned nephew Cedric has never been easy, but then one of her clients is murdered shortly after sitting for Agnes, and then another, and another... Why is the killer seemingly targeting her business?Desperately seeking an answer, Agnes approaches Pearl, a child spirit medium lodging in Bath with her older half-sister and her ailing father, hoping that if Pearl can make contact with those who died, they might reveal who killed them.But Agnes and Pearl quickly discover that instead they may have opened the door to something that they can never put back...

    What awaits, however, is a dark legacy shrouded in half a century of secrets, and it doesn't take long before Eudora realizes she's not the only one to call High Hearth home.

    Desperate to avoid reliving the traumatic memories of his father’s death, Ryan begs for a way out.Fortunately, Grandma Wendy's best friend Dot offers to keep the siblings for the afternoon, and despite her misgivings Lisa agrees to let the old woman take them. But as all three Campbells soon discover, Dot isn’t the sweet lady she appears to be. She’s bent on revenge for her own traumatic memories—and has all the powers of hell at her command to get it.Author's note: The Witch is a novel for adults, and contains brutality, bloody violence, death, explicit language, sexual innuendo, children in peril,and terror.

    A scrying bowl allows her to experience the final moments of the deceased. She brings closure to grief-stricken war widows and mourning families.For Letitia, it is a penance. She knows no such peace.For Alasdair Driscoll, it may be the only way to save his niece, Finola, from her growing night terrors. But when Letitia sees a shadowy figure attached to the household, it rouses old fears of her unspeakable past in England.When a man comes to her about his missing daughter, the third girl to go missing in as many months, Letitia can’t help him when she can’t see who’s taken them.As a darkness haunts Letitia’s vision, she may not be given a choice in helping the determined Mr Driscoll, or stop herself falling in love with him. But to do so risks a part of herself she locked away, and to release it may cost Letitia her sanity and her heart.

    Two years after the sinking of the Titanic, high society has become obsessed with spiritualism in the form of seances that attempt to contact the spirits of loved ones lost at sea.William is a man of science and a sceptic, but one night with everyone sat around the circle something happens that places doubt in his heart and a seed of obsession in his mind. Could the spirits truly be communicating with him or is this one of Kathleen’s parlour tricks gone too far?This early 20th century gothic set in Northern Ireland contains all the mystery and intrigue one might expect from a Sarah Waters novel. Deftly plotted with echoes of The Woman in Black, readers will be thrilled to discover West’s chilling prose.Based on the true story of William Jackson Crawford and famed medium Kathleen Goligher, and with a cast of characters that include Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini, The Spirit Engineer conjures a haunting tale that will keep readers guessing until the very end.

    Stripped of her reputation and haunted by a spirit she failed to protect, the young governess Grace Meadows finds herself out of time and growing more and more desperate. But when she’s offered a strange job from an eccentric medium, she never could have imagined what she was signing up for.Tasked with caring for a troubled young girl who has lost the ability to speak, Grace must unravel the dangerous secrets at the heart of a run-down country mansion and find the source of the horrors which now threaten both of their lives.As she’s forced to confront her own demons and reconcile the ghosts of past and present, can Grace protect the child from the living and dead? And what is waiting for her beyond the mysterious silk and bells which protect them from forces unseen?Jane Eyre meets the Woman in Black in this gothic supernatural mystery. Perfect for fans of Susan Hill, Sarah Waters, Laura Purcell, and novels packed with thrilling suspense which will keep you on the edge of your seat, A House of Bells is a tale you won’t want to miss.

    Wagner is a sawmill gothic that begins with June Vogel’s return to Storm Break, her family’s estate. Things in the great house aren’t what they used to be. Doors slam in the night. Faucets turn on, untouched. Something is always watching, whatever June does. And when her brother returns with his new bride, deceit and betrayal threaten to destroy everything she loves.

    Partnered with leading anthologist Eric J. Guignard, and gifted artists Steve Lines and James Gabb, the greatest of Charlatan’s discoveries are made available now in this comprehensive travel anthology!From the Philippines’ tragic Ame-Soeur Clothing Factory, to Sweden’s reverent Fish Church; from Tanzania’s vengeful Unguja Restaurant, to Canada’s cursed Crow Island Lighthouse, Charlatan Bardot presents a lifetime of experience and insight into paranormal architecture.27 feature stories and 36 tiny tales are included of haunted temples, diners, hotels, shops, hospitals, outposts, theaters, and other building types, along with maps, travel notes, illustrations, and more, all designed to provide an immersive experience for veteran travelers and armchair ghost hunters alike!Enter Professor Charlatan Bardot’s Travel Anthology to the Most (Fictional) Haunted Buildings in the Weird, Wild World (2021 edition) and explore the strange and curious locales of the globe and of your imagination.

    For Refraction, that spark is Maria.Many children have imaginary friends, but Mr Piggyisn’t an ordinary playmate. Strange things begin tohappen whenever he’s around and when he becomesviolent, Maria’s parents are naturally concerned.Follow Maria as she grows up in Braighton Manor;a life of wealth, privilege and loving parents, but withthe shadow of something unnatural, always by herside.How do the events of her young life, directly affectthe future? What makes her so important? Is shecrazy or is there any truth to these invasive visions?THE WORLD SHE KNOWS, IS ONLY HALF THE STORY.

    

    

    Except at their new home. There is something off about 23 Ripley Avenue. It’s a large Colonial house, the biggest in town, where the floorboards creak and even the darkness seems darker. Worst of all is the stench, which seems to emanate from the locked door in the basement, the one nobody can get open. It smells of death and decay, slowly spreading from the basement like a sickness. Toby must uncover the truth behind his new home before the death takes over everything – including his family.

    A collection that explores the intricacies of the human psyche, leaving you with the curious sense of dread that only gothic horror can achieve.Featuring the talent of Brad Acevedo, David Andrews, R.A. Busby, Marie Casey, Spyder Collins, Roland Garrety, Rebecca Jones-Howe, Jeremy Megargee, Nick Petrou, and Cassandra L. Thompson.

    She was there at the dawn of time, when the first cave paintings were created, and she will be with us until the end.

    Extinction. Warming. Sea level rise... Mother Nature heard our crimes and found us guilty.Field Notes from a Nightmare is an anthology of ecological horror, containing 18 stories from some of the strongest voices in indie horror.With a Foreword from New York Times-Bestselling author Tim Lebbon

    A man obsessed with the obscene. A vampire consumed by love. Ravens & Roses is a unique collection of Gothic stories penned by a diverse group of women authors. Pulling inspiration from some of the greatest Gothic works of our time, these writers have created eleven poignantly beautiful tales of love, tragedy, and the woman's experience. Featuring stories written by Kristin Cleaveland, Judith Crow, Carla Eliot, A.L. Garcia, Tara Jazdzewski, Rebecca Jones-Howe, Liz M. Kamp, Catherine McCarthy, Olivia Claire Louise Newman, Alexa Rose, and Helen Whistberry. Also featuring poetry by The Dark Poet Society of Quill & Crow Publishing House. Edited by Cassandra L. Thompson.

    A man discovers a mirror in an antiques shop that allows its gazers to climb inside and visit paradise. A teenager is haunted by the memory of a strange boy who appeared in his bedroom when he was a child. A future pandemic survivor is forced to make a terrible sacrifice in order to save the world's gay male population. A cult survivor sees a man who reminds him of someone from the past and begins to lose a bit of his hard-earned control. An entity that exhibits characteristics of both angel and vampire tells its peculiar story to an anonymous confessor and potential lover in the shadows of an LGBTQ club.  Silent film actresses who haunt a Hollywood Hills mansion, mysterious beings who lurk in the closet, and witches who may or may not live under the bed: these and many other dark fiction entities from this twisted box of curiosities come together to serve the reader a cornucopia of chilling horror, sci-fi terror, and dark fantasy. In a bloody twist on the antiquated trope of "burying the gays,” sixteen established and award-winning genre fiction scribes from around the globe, including Felice Picano (Lambda Award nominee and co-founder of The Violet Quill), Greg Herren (Lambda Award winner and co-founder of the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival), Daniel M. Jaffe (Rainbow Award and American Fiction Prize finalist), and Thomas Kearnes (2019 Lambda Award nominee), put forth a dazzling array of creature features, shadow fables, and dreadful delusions spotlighting LGBTQ+ characters.   Prepare to unearth your deepest nightmares.

    IN SOMNIO recasts the legacy of the original Gothmothers in a chilling contemporary light.Within the walls of an arcane modern art gallery; upon the shores of a hostile but compelling sea; into the blackest burrows of the animal kingdom; tableside at the world’s last restaurant on the eve of the apocalypse; from the deep deep South to a Lovecraftian Steampunk theatre, a cornucopia of disturbing vignettes await you.Fans of twisted takes on the classics such as Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters; Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House/Bly Manor; moody, secretive novels like Night Film and A House at the Bottom of the Lake; and traditional Gothic Horror and ghost stories will all find something to chill their bones in IN SOMNIO.This collection features eighteen vibrant, unique stories ranging from deeply intimate one-room settings to sprawling fantasy worlds; from the depths of darkness to comedy and adventure. Each story brings a new perspective to our inherent love of Gothic Horror and what those vital elements of terror still have to say today.Edited by Alex Woodroe.Featuring Stories by:Harklin AsheBarbara A. BarnettLauren BolgerJ.A. BrysonElou CarrollLin DarrowM. Lopes da SilvaA.P. HowellJulie HutchingsJessica LévaiBriana Una McGuckinAster S. MonroeVictoria NationsTaylor Jordan PittsMary RajotteRachel UngerHelen WhistberryS.E. ZellerIllustrated by:Sally CantirinoDaniella BatshevaMarisa BrunoEcho EchoClaire L. SmithTammsle

    Whatcha crying for, sissy? Why don’t you grow a pair?’ Rosie says to her mother…‘Send me to school and I’ll rip off your arm! Beat you with the stump.’Abandoned by her terrorised mother at the age of six, Rosie Shadow will do anything to win the affection of her father Archie, an undead cannibal in charge of Her Majesty’s Prison Shortbury, now operating as a visitor attraction.Clare is sent reeling into Archie’s arms with the grief of losing her boyfriend in a mysterious car accident when he collides with an ancient yew tree.The secrets in the Medieval dungeon beneath the prison are under threat when Clare becomes suspicious of Archie’s true identity and his progeny.Rosie Shadow is Book I in The Black Tongue Series.

    The hallowed halls of Cambridge seem impossibly huge and far beyond the Mansfield of his youth. But Nick has much more than fitting in to fear when he's attacked by a creature straight out of his worst nightmares…Emotionally scarred by the sudden death of her parents, Annabel buries her feelings deep in her studies. But after barely surviving a freak accident, the shy girl begins to fear she's cursed. And when her new friends nearly fall prey to a monstrous beast that shouldn't exist, she's terrified that her bad luck could bring their demise.As Nick and Annabel plan to trap the creature, they stumble upon a long-held Cambridge secret. And the otherworldly truth is less pass-fail than do-or-die.Can Nick and Annabel banish the beast before freshers’ week becomes their last?